Queens sees low election day turnout

Queens voters went to the polls on Tuesday to cast votes for City Council, district attorney and judicial races. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

 Although not everyone was maybe aware of it, Tuesday was, in fact, election day. 

Without any statewide or federal races on the ballot this fall, early voting tallies and election day check-ins saw low turnout in both Queens and throughout the city. 

Through 3 p.m., around 83,000 ballots had been cast in the World’s Borough, and around 313,000 in all five boroughs combined, according to the Board of Elections. The tally was around five times smaller than last year’s numbers, when a competitive gubernatorial race was on voters’ minds. 

Despite the low turnout overall, there was a steady stream of voters at a number of Queens poll sites that saw close and sometimes contentious City Council or judicial races. There was also a a boroughwide race for Queens district attorney on the ballot that brought a number of voters to their local poll sites to make their voices heard. 

North Queens’ 19th Council District, which makes up the areas around Whitestone, Beechhurst and Bay Terrace, was the site of the borough’s most closely watched race. That’s where incumbent Republican Vickie Paladino squared off against the former holder of the seat, moderate Democrat Tony Avella, who defected from the Democrats when he was a member of the State Senate. 

The race is a rematch of 2021’s general election, where Paladino squeaked into City Hall by two percentage points, flipping the toss-up district red. 

In Bay Terrace, turnout was relatively low, with only about 100 votes cast by 9 a.m. 

Voters the Eagle spoke with there said they were motivated to vote by crime and public safety, coupled this year with the migrant crisis, an issue that some said landed close to home after Paladino was at the center of a fight against a shelter in College Point. 

Despite low turnout overall, a number of Queens voters went to their voting sites on Tuesday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

“It needs work,” Bayside resident Paul Eckstein said of the city’s handling of the crisis. 

Eckstein said he voted Democrat, for both Avella and incumbent District Attorney Melinda Katz, who faced two challengers in Republican Michael Mossa and Democrat-turned-third-party candidate George Grasso. 

“I don't like what’s going on in the Republican Party, they are not very nice,” said Eckstein. 

Others were not so partisan.

“I always voted for who I thought was the best, regardless of party,” said Kathy O,. a fellow Bayside voter who said that although she is a registered Democrat, she has spent the last three years voting mainly for Republicans, primarily because of bail reform laws.

“I’m more for public safety over everything,” she said. 

Kathy had good things to say about Paladino, calling her “proactive,” and added she voted for Grasso based on what she had heard from others about him and because knew more about him than Mossa, the Republican candidate who has largely been absent from the campaign trail.  

Outside P.S 193 in Beechhurst, students and parents ran a bake sale for the 5th grade class that quickly was infected with the spirit of the council race in the district. An argument broke out between chaperoning parents and one approached reporters hoping to share the story with a larger audience. Her attempt echoed one made by Paladino around the same time. 

Speaking with reporters outside the school on Tuesday, Paladino took several shots at Avella, including calling him “irrelevant.” Paladino criticized her challenger for making comments about her son’s alleged association with the far-right group the Proud Boys. 

“The tactics that this man has tried are because he has no message, it's as simple as that,” she said. 

Republican Councilmember Vickie Paladino casts her vote at P.S 193. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

“The narrative that he's putting out there is lies,” she added. “This man should be running on his past record, he doesn't have a past record, he should be putting out positive messaging about himself.” 

In a phone call with the Eagle, Avella doubled down. 

“She is a white supremacist, she is a racist,” he said. 

Otherwise, Avella said he felt “good”, and that the low turnout was expected. 

As for Paladino’s “irrelevant” comments, Avella said: “She’d like to believe that.” 

Paladino also said she was happy with the turnout, but did raise issues at P.S 193 over some technical difficulties in a voting site she said was key to her coming out on top. 

Looking to get behind the bench 

City Council and district attorney candidates weren’t the only ones on the campaign trail – so were candidates for various judicial positions, including the Civil Court, 6th Municipal District, which covers an area similar to the 19th Council District.

Running in the Civil Court’s 6th Municipal District was Republican nominee and perennial judicial candidate William Shanahan and Democratic party-backed Evelyn Gong. 

As one of two Civil Court races in Queens between a Republican and Democrat, the race for the 6th Municipal District could be the most contested. 

Recently, despite being backed by the borough party, Gong was listed as “not approved” for a judgeship by the New York City Bar Association. Shanahan was rated as “approved.” The race could be a rare opportunity for a Republican judicial candidate to topple a Democratic one. 

Voters went to the polls on Tuesday in Northern Queens to cast votes for City Council, district attorney and judicial races. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

Both Gong and Shanahan told the Eagle they were optimistic in Bay Terrace on Tuesday morning. 

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Shanahan said. “I got a lot of good feedback…We tried to talk to as many people as possible.” 

Gong said that “things are on track,” and added that it was important that voters understood all the races on the ballot this year. 

 Meanwhile…elsewhere in Queens

Elsewhere in the World’s Borough, Election Day was quieter, with unchallenged incumbents in areas like Ridgewood and Rockaway and high mountains to climb for challengers over well known incumbents like in Jamaica and Astoria. 

At Astoria’s PS 70, around 180 voters had cast their vote by 9:30 a.m. 

Voters there were expected to re-elect Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, who won her June primary by the widest margin citywide. Cabán, who was narrowly defeated by Katz in the 2019 Democratic primary race for DA, has faced a number of challengers in her bids for election since losing to Katz and has not once come close to losing. 

Support remained high for the Democratic Socialist of America-backed lawmaker in the progressive district on Tuesday. 

Many of those casting ballots for Cabán also told the Eagle that they had little qualms electing Katz to another term, despite not casting a ballot for her several years ago. 

“I feel like this year’s race is Melinda Katz versus a bunch of people that I would not vote for, so it was not that hard to choose,” voter Emily Li said. “There wasn’t a great alternative option.

Vivece Befekadu also expressed her support for Cabán and cast a ballot for Katz, arguing that she didn’t agree with the pitch to voters made by Grasso, who slammed Katz on what he claimed was a lax approach to public safety.  

“I don't feel any less safe than I did two, five years ago,” she said. “I hear about things happening more and more and I realize that data reflects some sort of decrease in public safety, but I feel like those are exogenous factors and it's not necessarily due to the actions of a single person like Melinda Katz. I don't think they can snap their fingers and fix it by putting more people in jail or putting people in jail longer. None of those things are going to change anything.”

Check back with the Eagle on Wednesday for results from Tuesday’s general election.